What is technical writing?
Technical writing involves writing about technological processes and transferring knowledge more simply and clearly to the target audience.
Why technical writing is essential?
Technical writing is a vital part of a project. Technical writing aids in:
. Making users/customers understand what a certain product is
.Making users/customers understand how a certain product is used
.Making users/customers understand how a technological process works
What is the quality criteria for good technical writing?
The following diagram demonstrates the quality criteria for good technical writing:
What are the steps to write a technical writing document?
Technical writing documents are written in the following stages:
STAGE 1 — PLANNING
Planning is a vital part of every project. Before producing a technical document, the following steps need to be worked upon:
- Define the purpose of your document and target audience
- Characterize your target audience
- Make a list of topics to include and exclude in the document
- Scope of project (time required for each stage and persons involved)
STAGE 2— COLLECTING INFORMATION AND DRAFTING
Once you are over with the planning part of the document, start the research process. It will help you create the first draft of your technical document. The steps to be followed at this stage are:
- Create the outline of your document by giving a logical order to your included topics. Afterward, convert those topics into headlines.
- Start collecting information now. You have to collect two types of data: Primary and Secondary.
- Primary Data: To be collected from SMEs (Subject Matter Experts) and other people concerned
- Secondary Data: To be collected from already published documents, notes, and the internet
- Create your first draft
STAGE 3— REVISING AND EDITING
The next step is to revise and then edit your document accordingly. Following steps, you need to follow at this stage of producing a technical writing document:
- Revise your draft by passing it through the quality criteria discussed earlier.
- Edit each section of the draft accordingly.
STAGE 4— PROOFREADING AND TESTING
Stage 3 will produce a near-perfect technical document. The last and final stage is to proofread and test your document which involves the following steps:
- Proofreading will let you adjust the grammar and punctuation mistakes. For this step, consult with the proofreading experts.
- Afterward, pass the document through the testing phase. Testing can be carried out through either surveys or user-testing procedures.
- Both procedures will help you get knowledge about user/customer opinions about the documents and ultimately will help you produce a perfect technical writing document.
What are the common pitfalls of technical writing?
- Not doing proper research
- Not knowing the demand of your audience properly
- Lengthy words and grammar mistakes
- Inadequate content
- Poor organization of content